3PL Services actually stands for 3rd party logistics, or third party-unrelated to the business. A 3PL (third-party logistics) provider offers outsourced logistics services, which encompass anything that involves management of one or more facets of procurement and fulfillment activities. 3PL providers allow ecommerce merchants to outsource fulfillment, which is often costly and unproductive to manage in-house. A 3PL service may be a single provider, such as transportation or warehouse storage, or it can be a systemwide bundle of services capable of handling supply chain management.
As the logistics industry becomes more and more complex, the requirement for third-party logistics providers continues to grow. 3PL services not only free up valuable business time, but they can offer affordable transportation costs as well. Third party logistics providers also have the warehouse capacity to set up fulfillment in many foreign and domestic markets. This feature may prove highly valuable for the businesses involved in China sourcing.
Take a look at some of the benefits 3PL services offer to their clients–
- 3PL services make sure to pick up and track your shipment order every step of the way.
- They often offer additional services at a chill price point.
- 3PL services have multiple trusted partners across the globe, ensuring that there’s always a backup plan for any scenario.
- They take the pressure off you and let you run your business while they handle the logistics of your product from anywhere in the world.
- 3PL providers offer custom solutions that meet your specific needs for assembly, packaging, warehousing, and onsite integration.
- 3PL’s are very industry-focused, and therefore they are extremely knowledgeable about what works best for their customers. They have technology that is able to produce advanced reporting and inventory management, tracking the entire logistics process.
One of the advantages of working with a 3PL provider is the ability to easily position your supply chain in markets where you don’t have an established presence. Different 3PLs have different storage capacities; not all 3PL warehouse space is created equal. It’s important to work with a 3PL that has more than enough storage space for your current inventory.
Using a 3PL provider eliminates the need to invest in warehouse space, technology, transportation, and staff to execute the logistics process. Doing business with a third party logistics company is a contractual obligation that requires transparency at a transactional level.